I planted a Shanx Li and GA866 last spring and they grew well.
I knew next to nothing about them except what I had seen checking out permaculture vids on youtube… and then reading about them in nursery catalogs…
The appeal to me for JuJube was that they bloom late (May…) which is (after last frost for me pretty much always) and ripen late Sept or early Oct timeframe… and I needed more stuff getting ripe later in the year. Per OGW they said no known pest or diseases… which is a big plus. If frost never gets it, and no known pest or diseases… wow that is the bulk of what normally gives me fruit failure.
Even though I just planted them last spring, they did bloom some last year in May, but no fruit set (as expected).
I selected those two varieties, mostly based on description (larger fruit), and sweetness.
Glad to see someone else choose the same. Hope we both have good luck with them.
I do not want to burst your bubble but would like to share my experience with Shanxi Li. I planted it with Honey Jar an Sugar Cane in the spring of 2016. I’ve found that the advertisement has only been half-correct so far.
The correct part is the fruit size is often large. I said “often” because they vary in size.
The incorrect part is “crunchy and sweet”. It is neither so far. It has foamy texture and hard to detect sweetness.
It is also poor setter. It flowers abundantly but set only small amount of fruit. Many fruit grew some, turned yellow/brown and dropped. When I cut them up, seeds were not formed, a sign of improper pollination.
It is still a young tree so I still have hope.
As for G866, I heard that it is very stingy about fruit setting. @BobVance grow both varieties. Hope he will share his experience with you.
hate to hear that… of course everyone I saw eating them on youtube raved about the crunchy sweetness… if they do turn out disappointing… it would not be my first time with that result from a new fruit purchase.
I think Blackberries and Peaches are the two things (so far) I have just never been disappointed in taste wise. Well except in years like last year when frost got all my peaches… I have never lost a blackberry crop to frost… they always produce and they both always just taste great.
I ate my first home grown raspberries last year Heritage and Fall Gold and also LoganBerries and my own home grown blueberries produced their first good crop. Oh so good.
I had Japanese plums in the past and when they did produce they were never disappointing. But they bloomed in Feb… so in 11 years I only got a couple decent crops off them.
I have a couple of European Plum trees that should produce first crop this year. Looking forward to trying those. Mt Royal and Rosy Gauge… I hope they turn out to be another that produces regularly and never disappoints flavor wise.
Shanxi Li get’s mixed reviews- some people seem to get large tasty fruit from it, while both Mamuang and myself have gotten sporadic production, variable size and not great quality fruit. In perfect conditions (hot sunny areas, like CA), GA866 is supposed to be a stingy producer of very sweet fruit. In my part of the country, it makes nothing at all, at least in the 5 years I’ve had it for. Honey Jar, Contorted, and Sugar Cane all produce much more fruit. And HJ and SC are top quality (crisp, very sweet), with So being a step below them, but still very good.
I’d suggest grafting some other varieties on. Not only will they be better than the 2 you have, but they will add some pollination. Jujube wood is pretty hard, but grafting with it is pretty forgiving, about the same as apples, in terms of success.
I still have a couple Shanxi Li, but I’ve started to put some grafts on them. About half my GA866 is other varieties (one of which produced in the first (and subsequent years).
Interesting- the Contorted I got last summer from them was good sized as well. The other (Lang, a variety I don’t recommend) was smaller.
Must be a bit quicker to grow in the Dave Wilson field. I didn’t even go in wanting this thing, but wow are they stunning looking trees without their leaves. I kind of want one of those flying dragon trifolate plants now.
There are several excellent jujubes. In the east coast, Honey Jar and Sugar cane fit the bill and easy to find. Honey Jar’s fruit size is small and Sugar Cane’s fruit size is medium.
Don’t give up on jujubes, there are plenty of good ones out there.
I haven’t tasted Shanxi Li yet. GA 866 is good and sweet but I have also been told it is stingy with fruit. I hope yours do well. Good idea to graft to them for different varieties. When I first stated “collecting” jujubes I wanted the big ones too. However don’t let the small ones pass you by. The trees bearing the smaller ones usually make up for size in numbers and that is good because you can eat these little guys like popcorn. And sweet they are!! Good luck with them!
jujubes I wanted the big ones too. However don’t let the small ones pass you by. The trees bearing the smaller ones usually make up for size in numbers and that is good because you can eat these little guys like popcorn. And sweet they are!! Good luck with them!